Planning
he Bible has a lot to say about God’s “good purpose” (Phil.2:13, Heb.6:17). It seems that on every other page we read of another instance of God working out his predetermined plan...
Conduit
Most of us prefer to live on a cul-de-sac. We tend to like them because they allow us the tranquility of forgoing all the unnecessary traffic running through our lives. After all, the main streets allow way too much congestion coming our way that ultimately...
The New Jerusalem
It is unfortunate that our future eternal home is often perceived to be far too ethereal and mystical to provide any concrete motivation for our daily lives. It’s worse than unfortunate...
God’s Perfection
Psalm 18 states the obvious when it proclaims that “as for God, his way is perfect” (v.30). What may come as unexpected is that the psalmist is quick to testify that God in turn makes David’s way “perfect”...
Freedom
The New Testament Gospel is a message of “freedom,” not from an expectation to keep the rules, but from the just and deserved penalty of our sin. All too often Christians bandy
End Times
A thoughtful view of God’s plan for the consummation of this era ought to infuse our hearts with ample amounts of hope and courage to face our daily challenges. Much like the despised but courageous...
Real Worship
Real worship is not easy. The difficulty is usually commensurate with the amount of pride in our hearts. Worship is hard because it requires that we attribute to another what our flesh desires to receive – the credit! At the core of worship...
Relieving Doubt
When we experience uncertainty, doubt or insecurities that the world is sure to bring, let us be sure that the cause is never our equivocation about God’s faithfulness. Let us always remember that...
Trials and Prayer
When you are on the fence about whether to share your trial, your hurt or your burden
What Is Faith?
Faith in Christ as we walk through this life can easily be mistaken for optimism...
Prayer Perspective
When Jesus gave his disciples coaching on how we should pray (Mt.6:9ff.) his instructive template...
Boldness
When we think of what it means to be a godly person, several virtues are likely to come to mind...
Idolatry
The challenging New Testament letter of 1 John ends with the poignant summation to “keep yourself from idols” (5:21). While our minds may revert to flannel graph images of...
Suffering and Openness
When we encounter tough times we tend to want to isolate ourselves. Because of the pain, fear of embarrassment, or doubts regarding others’ understanding, we often choose to...
Shine Your Light
Jesus was clear that he has no interest in “covert Christians.” He expects our commitment to him to “shine” forth in everything we do. He has no tolerance for...
Anxiety
When we are gripped with anxiety, we are good for nothing! The Greek word the New Testament uses for this vice paints the picture of a mind that is scattered and divided, having trouble concentrating...
That Uncomfortable Feeling
I recently read an article based on the stated premise that “the Bible should be read for one’s enjoyment.” With that objective, it was no surprise that the rest of the piece consisted of the author aggressively...
Earthly Jobs
The Bible calls all Christians to see their daily work at their so-called “secular jobs” as a series of sacred acts of service to our King. We must look beyond our earthly bosses...
Exchanging Our Expletives
The dictionary defines “expletives” as “words with no meaning.” They are those words we blurt out as our impromptu expressions…
A Simple Cure
When, in Psalm 73, the psalmist finds himself frustrated by his daily struggles and aggravated by the inequities of life, it is amazing how quickly and simply his angst is resolved...
Reading the Whole Bible
Reading through the Bible, from cover to cover, on a regular basis is a critically important discipline for a healthy Christian life. With that said, it is important to distinguish this from reading for study...
Christ with Us
God has promised his kids that he would never leave them and never forsake them (Heb.13:5b). Before Jesus physically left…
Epaphroditus
Epaphroditus is one of the many unsung heroes of the Bible. His name means “attractive”. And while we don’t know anything about his physical appearance, when we read the New Testament we quickly discover that he possessed a beautiful character...
Doubt
It’s not just Thomas; every Christian has moments and even seasons of doubt. But the best prescription when doubts arise is to go back to Christ’s credentials and the reliability of the biblical documents. Consider the fact that our confidence...
Real Missions
The Book of Acts is a story about first century Christians who, by today’s popular standards, would be considered brash, judgmental, narrow-minded zealots who were fueled by some sort of spiritual imperialism devoid of any real empathy, care or compassion...
Prayer Requests
Be careful what you repeatedly ask of God. You can’t always judge a prayer by its answer. While it’s true that many times in his kindness God withholds granting what we foolishly or selfishly request...
Perspectives on the Unseen
To hold a biblical perspective on reality is to affirm that there is more to reality than what meets the eye. In fact, what you don’t see matters far more than what you do see. Paul writes...
Spiritual Sensitivity
The lenses of our eyes are extremely sensitive. It doesn’t take but a speck of dust to stop us in our tracks so that we can delicately and diligently work to extract the irritating particle. That’s what makes Christ’s illustration concerning...
Sharing Meals
God can accomplish a lot of good in the lives of his people when they take their meals together. Think of how often throughout the Bible a feast, a banquet, a breakfast, lunch or dinner serves as the setting for some profound lesson, as an opportunity...
Preparing for God’s Word
Responding appropriately to God’s word, whether it is being read or it is being preached, requires an important preparatory step that is often neglected. God’s word is said to be “living and active” and sufficiently able to have a transforming...